The determinants of healthcare utilisation in regional, rural and remote South Australia: A cross-sectional study

Accessibility of health services outside metropolitan centres in Australia is sub-optimal. Recognising the barriers and enablers of healthcare access in rural, remote and regional settings is necessary to improving health service access in these disadvantaged populations. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the determinants of healthcare use in rural, remote and regional South Australia. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from adults living outside metropolitan Adelaide in South Australia between April 2017 and March 2018. Using a multi-modal recruitment campaign, eligible adults were invited to complete the 44-item consumer utilisation, expectations and experiences of healthcare instrument. Independent predictors of health service utilisation (dependent variable) were determined using negative binomial regression. The questionnaire was completed by 3926 predominantly female (52.5%) adults aged >= 50 years (56.7%), residing in regional South Australia (84.5%). Fifteen independent variables were significantly associated with health service utilisation using univariate analyses. Using negative binomial regression analysis, two predisposing factors (sex, remoteness), three enabling factors (income, health literacy, employment), two need factors (health rating, multimorbidity) and two personal health practices (alcohol, diet) were independently and significantly associated with healthcare use. Female sex (OR = 1.436, p < 0.001), good/excellent health rating (OR = 0.589, p < 0.001) and high multimorbidity (OR = 1.408, p < 0.001) were the strongest predictors of health service use. These findings will help inform the development of targeted health promotion and service engagement strategies for regional populations, which in addition to addressing workforce shortages, may help address inequity in health outcomes, particularly for groups engaging with regional healthcare services infrequently.